3 Dangers of DIY Plumbing Projects

hopeplumbingMar 4, 2015

We live in a Pinterest and DIY world. Today, people have a newfound confidence
to tackle DIY plumbing projects because they can find videos, tutorials,
and guides within a few clicks. Some of these DIY plumbing projects seem
simple while others seem like a daunting task. The reality is that messing
with your water lines in your home is a bold move.

Over the past month, we've had countless calls on our emergency service
line because a DIY plumbing project went horribly wrong. One customer
called after he attempted to re-build a toilet that had gone bad. Prior
to starting the project, he turned off his water until he was ready to
do testing. However, our customer didn't know his main shut off valve
was bad. As a result, he couldn't get his water turned back on when
he was ready to test the repairs.

Before you attempt a DIY plumbing project, you need to answer these two
questions (at minimum):

1) Can you easily and quickly locate your main shut off valve for your
water line?

2) Is your main shut off valve working properly?

Here is a picture of the main shut off valve at Hope Plumbing's office
(in our basement).

Without confirming the location and status of your main shut off valve
for your water line, you could run into the following plumbing issues:

1) Racking up an expensive plumbing emergency service bill. People usually attempt DIY projects on nights and weekends (aka outside
of business hours for plumbing companies). Most plumbing companies have
an emergency service line, but the rate is significantly higher than non-emergency
service rates.

2) Ruining floors, furniture, and other home goods. If you drill into a water line or burst a pipe doing your DIY plumbing
repair, you could encounter significant water damage. We've seen many
customers damage or completely ruin furniture, flooring, and wood cabinetry,
to name a few.

3) Cleaning up after your basement or crawl space floods. Have you ever seen a water line burst? A ruptured water line is no joke.
Water will start dumping onto the floor, basement, or crawl space quickly
and instantly. If you don't have a sump pump and back-up sump pump,
the water won't have an efficient way to exit your home.

In a nutshell, do not attempt any DIY plumbing projects without knowing
the location and status of your main shut off valve. We are happy to help
you locate your main shut off valve if you can't find it on your own.
You can also schedule a service call for any plumbing projects you don't
feel comfortable tackling on your own. Call our office at (317) 900-4513
to schedule a service call.

In the meantime, do you have any stories from your DIY plumbing projects
gone wrong? Comment on this blog post or share your advice with our followers
on social media
@hopeplumbing.